The Microsoft AI chief went on a podcast recently and discussed two topics. Superintelligence is close. Your job is safe. The second claim is supposed to reassure. It should do the opposite, because it tells you what the first claim actually means.
If superintelligence were really close in the strong sense, labor displacement would be the entire conversation. The fact that the Microsoft AI chief can wave it off suggests he is using the word to mean something softer: very capable assistants, better automation, more Copilot. Fine. Useful, even. But that is not superintelligence. That is product roadmap with a halo.
This is the standard move now. Use the maximal word to raise the stock, then use the minimal definition to manage the politics. Both audiences nod. Neither is told which version is being sold.
The honest version of the sentence is shorter. We are building systems powerful enough to reshape who gets paid for what, and we would prefer you not focus on that part. Read the footnotes, not the framing. The reassurance is the tell.